Change: Spirit of Action Shorts Program

Arrested (Again)

(Documentary Short, 4 mins)

Synopsis: Activist Karen Topakian has been arrested dozens of times for using nonviolent civil disobedience to protest nuclear proliferation, human rights abuses, environmental issues, and war. What drives her to repeatedly put her body on the line?

Director: Dan Goldes

Dan Goldes' first film, "ub2", about language related to HIV, was an official selection of 37 U.S. and international festivals, while his second, "Equal Justice Under Law", about the U.S. Supreme Court's marriage equality decision, played at 20 festivals around the world. Dan is currently in production on "5 Blocks", a long-form documentary about a San Francisco neighborhood undergoing its most dramatic change in 50 years. Dan is a graduate of the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking and has served on the screening committees of the San Francisco Green Film Festival and the Sebastopol Documentary Festival. He is currently in the incubator program at San Francisco's Ninth Street Independent Film Center.

The Draft and The Vietnam Generation

Synopsis: What would you do if your government ordered you to fight a war you opposed? Millions faced that dilemma during the Vietnam War. Featuring ordinary Americans, including Santa Cruz’s own Mike Rotkin, who tell their own stories of opposition to the draft, this engaging new documentary reveals the individual moral decision making that fueled a powerful movement against an unjust war.

“At a moment when resistance again to state wrongs is on the rise, this film is a wonderful reminder of the bravery, costs, and necessities for such a stance.” — Professor Susan Reverby

Director: Director/Producer Beth Sanders’ past works include Fear and Favor in the Newsroom, a documentary on self-censorship within the American press narrated by Studs Terkel, and Making the News Fit which examines American press coverage of the war in El Salvador. Beth currently lives in Seattle.

Women's March

Synopsis: WOMEN’S MARCH is a story about democracy, human rights, and what it means to stand up for your values in America today. On January 21, 2017, hundreds of thousands of women marched on Washington, DC. That same day, hundreds of sister marches took place across the country and around the world. Shot on location in five U.S. cities, the film explores several women’s motivation to march. For some people, it was their first time marching. For others, it was the continuation of a decades-long fight for human rights, dignity, and justice. For all, it was an opportunity to make their voices heard. It grew into the largest one-day protest in American history.

Director: Mischa is Founder and Chief Storyteller at TrimTab Media. He brings over a decade of experience producing award-winning documentaries, commercials and online videos. Women’s March is his fifth documentary film production.

Between Wagons and the Moon

EarthVision Short (14 mins)

Scheduled to attend: Brian Oh (director)

Synopsis: A Colombian-American musician, La Muna resides in Nogales, Sonora along the US-Mexico border where she writes songs about migrants and deportees she meets.

Director: Brian Oh was born in Illinois, USA, raised in South Korea and spent time living in Germany as a teenager. Dropping out of college in South Korea, he moved to Chicago to pursue his film studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Soon after graduating from the school, he moved to New York City and has worked on several short films, documentary, music videos and multi-media projects and shown his works to several screenings and exhibitions.